ferns 2006

The original site for Polystichum setiferum 'Divisilobum' (now commercially available as 'Caernarfon' from Long Acre Nurseries see their catalogue ) is a copse just on the outskirts of Caernarfon, Gwynedd, North Wales. There is a small stream going through this. The soil is very clayey, glacial drift. The dominant tree species is hazel, Corylus avellana with an understorey of ramsons, Allium ursinum and thickets of Rubus (bramble). In 1970 this was visited and a bulbiferous form of Polystichum setiferum was found. The following year, Jimmy Dyce was leading a British Pteridological meeting in the area. He saw this bulbiferous Polystichum setiferum in my garden, then in Bangor, North Wales. He identified this as Polystichum setiferum 'Divisilobum' and was reported in a subsequent British Pteridological Society newsletter. This original plant has been moved from two gardens in Bangor to Kendal in the Lake District, then to a garden in Backbarrow, near Newby Bridge and back to its present location in Llanystumdwy. There is an offset growing in another garden in Criccieth. Philip Brown in the 1980's as taxonomist in Portmeirion and responsible for magic that is the Gwyllt today, propagated bulbils given to him from the original specimen with the result there are a number of plants in various parts of the Gwyllt woodland. From Philip's written notes, he mentions their origin but the account was not entirely accurate in that it had been found elsewhere. He gave a number of bulbil produced plants to other gardens in the area but it was never commercially available.
It is certainly a good garden plant of merit, easy to grow, vigorous and attractive. It does not suffer the ravages of fungal attack that many of the Victorian Polystichum setiferum varieties sadly succumb to. As mentioned before it is now well established in commercial quantities and hopefully the general public can enjoy this plant of known provenance. The original plant is now large and multi crowned - a fine specimen.
What is more interesting is that on the way back from a garden fair in Crug Farm Plants, the original site was revisited and another Polystichum setiferum 'Divisilobum' was found. The fronds are just unfurling and it will be interesting to see if it is bulbiferous. All last years fronds were badly eaten by sheep as were many of the normal Polystichum setiferums in this copse. It is obviously a young plant and I would estimate about four years old.
I hope that this account sets the record straight and removes any confusion as to the origins of Polystichum setiferum 'Divisilobum' Caernarfon.
As has been mentioned before, the garden in Llanystumdwy has had many sporelings naturally occurring. They are regularly 'cropped' and grown on to assess their potential. Until last year there was only one specimen of Polystichum setiferum in the garden, i.e. 'Divisilobum'. So the sporelings, until the Polystichum collection was expanded, must have originated from this plant. Now the situation is more complicated, one cannot be sure what is happening. There have been some fine plants from these sporelings and two further selections have been made and named as 'Dwyfor' and 'Dwyfach' named after the two rivers only some 500 yards from the garden. 'Dwyfor' is a fine bulbiferous plant with fronds at least three feet in length. 'Dwyfach' is at the opposite extreme, barely ten inches in length and highly bulbiferous. Both are vigorous plants worthy of merit.